from the outside looking in, everybody sees
by airauralintensity
Summary: "... A couple so in love, yeah that's you and me." AU Finchel told from the outside looking in.


**inspired by finchelphotoprompts. tumblr post/29681079345**

**title + description derived from Lonestar's _Outside Looking In_**

**Also, I don't own Glee or anything that may have been mentioned here, but you knew that. lol**

* * *

His alarm wakes him up bright and early. He really doesn't want to get up, but he knows he doesn't want to stay in the apartment any longer than he has to, so he sighs as he musters up enough energy to get up from the couch in the living room.

He gets ready and leaves with a half-hearted "_See you later."_and has to force himself to not add the "honey" that he used to add at the end. On the subway to work, he glares at any of the happy couples that dare remind him of what he lost—well, is losing, but gonna lose anyway.

He slides into his chair in front of all the monitors and makes a noncommittal grunt in response to his co-worker's greeting. He just wants to get his shift over with so that he can go back to thei—_his_ (her?) apartment.

What he's actually gonna do at the apartment aside from avoid his wife, he doesn't know. Basically, he doesn't want to be anywhere right now. He offhandedly wonders if this is what Kristen Stewart feels like.

The first few hours go by without a hitch. He laughs along with his co-worker at any of the funny things they see happen in the monitors. As much as he doesn't want to be here, he has to admit that people-watching was always one of the perks of being a security guard at the local mall. It's probably the only reason why he kept the job in the first place.

Around lunch time, just as he's about to get up to take his break, movement on one of the monitors to his left catches his attention. There's this huge group of kids, no older than seniors in high school, walking to the escalators. He could tell they just came from the food court because they're all holding drinks or some snack. There's this guy in a wheelchair, another guy with a Mohawk, and three girls still in their cheerleading uniforms.

The tall guy and the short girl next to him stand out the most, though. The guy's wearing this puffy vest despite the fact that it's still late March, and it's not even that cold out. The girl's wearing this short skirt and a sweater that he could tell through the black and white image is really colourful and probably doesn't match.

His co-worker calls out to him, but he just tells the guy not to wait up.

They're obviously a couple, what with the way the girl is leaning into the guy and the way the guy is holding her even closer with the hand not holding his drink. He sneers at the image; that used to be _them_ before it all fell apart.

He takes comfort in the fact that they're just teenagers. They might be comfortable now, but he's willing to bet the money he was gonna spend on lunch that within a week, they'll break up. It'll probably be the guy's fault too. He can't put his finger on it, but something about him makes him look like a douche.

He keeps on watching them, waiting for the guy to make some sort of slip up, and he does.

The group is dispersing, and he raises his arm holding his drink up towards two other guys who seem to be a couple too. As he does this, he apparently spills some on his girl. The two guys rush over, the taller one smacking her boyfriend on the arm and the short one with weird eyebrows looking over the girl's outfit.

He leans back in his chair, waiting for the girl to react. She hasn't yet. He's a little confused by this; she seems like the type to storm off dramatically. The guys are fussing over her and dabbing at her sweater, the tall one obviously worried that he made her mad.

He, along with the people on-screen, are shocked when she bursts into laughter. She says something, and the two guys chuckle and leave. At this point, everyone else has gone off, and it's just the two of them getting on the escalator. The guy says something to her, probably still apologizing, but she cuts him off mid-ramble and kisses him.

He turns his chair around, partly because he still can't stand the sight of couples and partly because he felt like he was intruding on a moment. He turned back around after a minute, and they got on the escalator, their arms wrapped around each other just as he first saw them. It's just then that he sees a glint on the girl's left hand, and _no way._

They're engaged?! They're still teenagers! How much could they possibly know about love to actually decide to _marry_ each other?

He remembers his earlier thought: they're _just_ teenagers. They probably figured that since they both have _breathing_ in common, they're soul mates.

He feels his heart clench because he used to think _they_ were soul mates, and look at where they are now.

He takes a closer look at them then, and understanding dawns in his mind. He sees it now, how much in love they are. He sees it in the girl's large smile when a group of attractive girls pass them on the other escalator and the guy doesn't even look their way. He sees it when the guy looks down at her as she talks. He can tell he's not even listening to a word she's saying, instead choosing to just watch her and let her voice wash over him.

His eyes become unfocused, but he can't even tell as his heart starts to clench in his chest because that's exactly how _they_ used to act before, and suddenly, he's inspired. He's not gonna let it end between them with resentment. Hell, if he has anything to say about it, he's not gonna let it end at all. He'll fight for her, just like he had in the past, just like he undoubtedly will in the future.

His co-worker comes back then, and he's left wondering if everything that he just experienced seriously transpired within thirty minutes. He looks back at the screen, and the couple isn't there anymore. He looks around at all the monitors frantically, hoping to spot them one last time to validate the epiphany he just had. He finds them on a bench in front of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Her head is on his shoulder, and their hands are intertwined on her lap. They don't seem to be talking; they're just sitting there without a care in the world. If he looks closely enough, he could still see the stain from earlier on her sweater, but she doesn't seem to remember it's even there. They look like those old couples in the parks who are content to just spend time together because they've already spent their whole lives living, except these two are content to just spend time together because they know they have their whole lives left to live.

He finds himself rooting for them, hoping that they stay together and never end up in the situation he's in now. He finally tears his eyes away from the screen when his co-worker taps him on the shoulder, reminding him he has a job to do. He sneaks glances at the monitors for that side of the mall every now and again, his face falling whenever he can't find the couple. He figures they've gone home already, and he feels excitement build in his gut when he thinks about what's gonna go down when he gets home.

* * *

The subway home doesn't take nearly as long as it usually does, and he takes that to be a good omen for what's to come. He races up the stairs to hi—_their_ apartment and opens the door with a flourish. She's on the couch curled up into his pillow and turns around startled at the noise. She has a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face and a blush spreading over her cheeks and down her neck, embarrassed at having been caught. She opens her mouth to explain, but he doesn't let her, instead taking the few steps it takes to get to her and sweeping her into his arms before kissing her right there on the couch.

It feels like coming _home_.

He breaks away, and her lips follow after him while her eyes are still closed. He chuckles at this, and she opens her eyes at the sound of his laugh. He kisses her forehead before leaning his own on hers and whispers, "We're going to be okay again, aren't we?"

She nods against him, and smiles break out over both of their faces before they kiss again, just a peck on the lips this time. She leans her head against his shoulder, and he puts his chin on top of her head.

As he holds his wife in his arms, he can't help but send a silent thank you to that couple in the mall. He's sure that without them, he wouldn't be here with the woman he loves in his arms.

* * *

Finn and Rachel are on one side of the couch while Kurt and Blaine were on the other side. They're watching some chick flick after Finn got out-voted by the other three.

All of a sudden, Finn and Rachel are hit with this feeling of immense gratitude coming from… somewhere. It was so sudden and so powerful that it left them breathless, and they both gasped at the same time.

Rachel looked up at him just as he looked down, and the look in their eyes said what didn't need to be spoken aloud. As she rested her head back on his shoulder, she said it anyway, quiet enough that it didn't disturb Kurt and Blaine. Finn repeated the sentiment as he dropped a kiss into her hair, and they turned their attention back to the movie, feeling more happy and in love in that moment than they had felt all school year.

* * *

**This is my first foray into Finchel fanfiction, so please excuse the fact that what you just read will never measure up to the likes of The Minsk, tiltingaxis, or GrittyRe-boot, to name a few. haha**

**Review or favourite if you want to! xoxo**


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